Evangelism Is For Everyone: Case Study #1: Jesus: The Greatest Evangelist Series

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). BARRIERS TO OVERCOME:

Barrier #1: racial (vs 3 & 9):

Barrier #2: social barrier (vs 7&27)

Barrier #3: religious (vs 19-20)

Barrier #4: moral (vs 16 & 19)

(2). OVERCOMING BARRIERS:

He made the effort (vs 4)

He humbled himself (vs 7)

He was natural (vs 10-15)

He was positive (vs 10-15)

He was honest (vs 16-18)

He was instructive (vs 20-24)

He made it personal (vs 25-26)

(3). THE RESULTS:

A change of attitude (vs 9,11,19,29)

A change of emphasis (vs 28)

A change for others (vs 39)

SERMONBODY:

Ill:

• If you want a good argument,

• Just state your opinion as to who is the greatest!

• i.e. The greatest footballer or team.

• i.e. The greatest singer or band.

• i.e. The greatest footballer artist or composer.

• i.e. The greatest preacher or missionary?

• i.e. The greatest Bible verse or book/

• TRANSITION:

• The list is endless, and we will find it hard to agree with one another.

• But when it comes to the greatest example and the greatest evangelist.

• No arguments!

• Jesus Christ is always first,

• And the apostle Pal second (although you might wat to argue with me on that one!)

Now in our relationship with Jesus, we need to:

• Know him (We do that better by…)

• Learning about him (which should always lead onto…)

• Living like him.

• All 3 of those things are interwoven and out work themselves in this chapter,

(1). BARRIERS TO OVERCOME:

Ill:

• On May 6th, 1954,

• Roger Bannister became the first man in history to run a mile in less than 4 minutes.

• Ever since statisticians kept records,

• It was said that no one would ever beat that record.

• But Roger Bannister didn't listen to them,

• He went out and broke it and made sports history.

• But here is my link to his story,

• After Roger broke the record,

• Within ten years 336 runners broke that record also.

• Question: What happened?

• Answer: The barrier was in the athlete's minds.

• They had believed what the experts said.

• They were convinced no one could break the record.

• It took a Roger Bannister to show them the truth,

• Often, we will never go beyond the barriers in your own mind.

• If you think you can't, you won't and never will try.

• If you are defeated in your mind, you've already lost the battle.

• TRANSITION: To reach this woman at the well,

• Jesus would break down barrier after barrier,

• Most of us would not have tried or given up, but not Jesus!

Note: Jesus had at least 4 barriers between himself and this lady:

Barrier #1: racial (vs 3 & 9):

"He had to pass through Samaria."

“The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)”

Quote:

"An unprejudiced mind is the rarest thing in the world."

• Unless you happen to be like the man who said:

• "I am not prejudiced, I hate everyone!"

• If we are honest then we must admit that we have prejudices:

• My prejudices may not be yours and yours may not be mine.

• But if we are honest, we have them!

• And there has only ever been one man who was not - Jesus Christ.

• Verse 3: "He had to pass through Samaria”.

• No self-respecting Jew would go through Samaria, they hated each other.

Ill:

• Story of the Good Samaritan had such an impact.

• No such thing, i.e. Honest thief!

• From centuries back there had been this feeling that the Samaritans had:

• Intermarried with other nations and they had corrupted their Jewish stock.

• These Samaritans were now half- breeds who had polluted and compromised their faith:

• They were despised by the Jews.

• This was land sandwiched between Judea to the south and Galilee to the north,

• Jews always went around Samaria; they would not voluntarily go through it.

Don’t forget Jesus was a Jew,

• He lived for thirty years with Jewish customs and Jewish ways.

• Throughout his life he constantly saw Jewish prejudices modelled as the norm!

• But Jesus did not take on board any of those prejudices:

• He was motivated by love for individuals – Jew, Gentile...even Samaritan!

• And so, he breaks down the first barrier which was Racial:

• Verse 9:

"You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (for Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)”

Note:

• If you've got a pencil, you can mark off 6 times in just five verses (verses 4-9):